Sony unveils surround soundbar for the PS3

E3 isn't usually a place for home theater news, especially from the Big Three game companies (Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony). However, Sony made a surprise announcement for game-hungry, Playstation 3-owning home theater buffs out there. The company just revealed the Sony Surround System for the PlayStation 3, a surround soundbar made specifically for Sony's game console.

At $200 it's not going to please many audiophiles, but it should prove to be a decent replacement for built-in HDTV speakers. The soundbar uses Sony's S-Force PRO technology to pump out simulated surround sound at 10 watts per stereo channel, plus 15 watts to each of its built-in woofers. Unusually, the soundbar doesn't include an external subwoofer, a feature now standard on most soundbar products. It also only supports optical and analog audio inputs; unlike Sony's higher-end soundbar products, it can't accept audio through HDMI. The PlayStation 3-branded soundbar ships this fall.